Four stars for the return of the sages

I'll give it ... four stars. Why? Because the ABC has wisely decided the no-frills format of SBS's The Movie Show was in no need of an overhaul.

"We're really happy to be here at our new home on the ABC continuing our love affair with the cinema," beamed Margaret Pomeranz as the first episode of the national broadcaster's Margaret & David at the Movies went to air at 9.30 last night.

And why wouldn't she be? It was business as usual as film's odd couple bickered over the latest crop of films including Spider-Man 2, The Mother and the harrowing mountaineering documentary Touching the Void.

Erudite biffo, always a key ingredient of The Movie Show, was very much on the menu.

Margaret: "We'll be giving you our opinions."

David: "They may not be the same opinions."

Margaret: "No, often they're not."

It didn't take long for them to disagree. Stratton's high opinion of Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire had Pomeranz gasping for air. "Oh, I can't stand his little voice."

Stratton's posture still suggests a man awaiting an unpleasant dental appointment. His subdued geometric tie hinted at the subtle intervention of an ABC stylist and it's just possible he's had his teeth whitened (it might have been the lights). Otherwise, he's the same celluloid sage we know and love.

Pomeranz's taste for black garb is undiminished and she still peers quizzically from beneath television's most luxurious fringe. Who else can say things like: "... the result is a compelling personal narrative that is in essence existential" and sound authoritative?

The set of At the Movies is also familiar. It's more spacious than their old gaff at SBS and the city vista gives it the look of a Fortune 500 boardroom.

But settled into two lime armchairs, it was easy to forget cinema's sparring partners had ever been off the air.

The only major change to the format is the addition of a satellite interview. Pomeranz had an amiable exchange with Touching the Void director Kevin Macdonald who appeared to be suspended from a rope somewhere near Big Ben.

Pomeranz, clearly enjoying herself, gave two films top marks. "It's so great to have two five-star movies on the first night at the ABC," she exclaimed.